View Full Version : pilots not needed!!
grumpytroll
4th Dec 2012, 16:59
Black Hawk flies, lands and avoids threats - all without pilots at the helm (With Video) | al.com (http://blog.al.com/breaking/2012/12/black_hawk_flies_lands_and_avo.html)
GoCFE8xVhKA
This could be the future of EMS hospital to hospital transport very soon. I don't believe visibility would even be an issue. Now getting the med crew on board, ...
Cheers:ok:
I don't think the military use case translates 1:1 into the civilian world here. However the technological advancements made there will eventually trickle down into the civilian sector as well. But then I'd rather expect e.g. cargo hauling applications. You could envision smaller and thus more cost-effective machines hauling cargo from A to B. The military already has an unmanned K-Max running, but this machine has not been designed from the ground up for unmanned flight.
Where pilots are already in competition today with non-pilot systems is for photo flights. A quadcopter with a gyro-stabilized camera can make aerial shots which are just as good as with a full-size helicopter for a fraction of the cost. If you don't believe me, watch this making of of a german music video (at 2:30 you can see the quadcopter and at 3:00 the guy controlling it with a visor).
XAVAS (Xavier Naidoo & Kool Savas) Making of - Schau nicht mehr zurück - (Official HD) 2012 - YouTube
grumpytroll
4th Dec 2012, 19:36
If this hasn't happened yet, it will. K Max flies supplies to a combat unit. Combat unit has a critical but stable patient. Time is of the essence. I have an idea... Lets save the guys life and load him in to the aircraft we have available right now. Thoughts? Recall an Apache flight where the critically wounded was place in the front seat and the co-pilot rode back on the wing? After that, provisions were made for this to become an emergency but trained maneuver for the future. I get that there are differences but the ability to adapt is necessary at times.
Cheers
I don't think the unmanned K-Max will make it into the civilian world, because it can probably not be operated for less than a classical K-Max. And exposure is not a critical factor as long as there are pilots having no problem operating within the HV diagram. However, new machines which are designed from a blank sheet for unmanned flight could be more efficient, because then it is possible to realize a much more compact design.
John Eacott
4th Dec 2012, 20:46
Nice to see Nick Lappos in the group photo at the end of the video :ok: